Buzzwords get boring, so drop the clichés, execs told

"At the end of the day," maybe you could have found a less clichéd way of saying that.

At least that's what international staffing agency Accountemps would have you believe after a poll of 100 Canadian senior executives, in which they were asked what they think are the most overused catchphrases or buzzwords in the workplace today.

Among the most often cited were sayings such as "at the end of the day," "it is what it is," "sense of urgency," "synergy" and "value proposition."

"Business communication should be clear, straightforward and devoid of industry jargon," Kathryn Bolt, president of Accountemps' Canadian operations, said in a statement. "When terms are overused, they lose their effectiveness."

She added: "While it can be tempting to rely on buzzwords from time to time, employees increasingly are being evaluated on their communication skills. Avoiding overused terms, particularly in formal communication, will help workers communicate more efficiently and professionally."

Michael Gooley, an Accountemps branch manager in Toronto, said in an interview that such advice is aimed at all employees, but particularly managers and others who are responsible for communicating to staff.

Gooley said buzzwords and catchphrases aren't necessarily all bad, and can actually be useful in some instances in getting a message across.

"They can be very good descriptive words to describe the situation, [but] they become popular, people jump on the bandwagon and start using them, and they get overused," he said, explaining that people eventually tune out the message when they get sick of the trendy cliches.

With many clichés, Gooley said, there are more direct ways to get the point across. For instance, instead of using the term "synergy," he suggested saying "let's work together." Or instead of talking about a "sense of urgency," one could simply say "let's do this quickly."

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